About Us
Our Vision
The intended outcomes from Grow 19 are to increase the opportunities for employment and independent adulthood for a range of young adults with significant needs whose statutory education was within a specialist setting.
We aim to give all of our young people opportunities to discover new ways, new skills and knowledge that engage them, develop them and will lead to them being exceptionally well prepared for their next steps and a positive, meaningful future.
Our Mission
Is to put young people with learning disabilities at the heart of all that we do. We achieve our success by having a great team of staff who really care about the work that they do with our young people and who have a wide range of skills and expertise plus drive and total commitment to our vision.
Policies
Grow 19 has a comprehensive set of policies to help guide staff and learners.
Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Protection
Staff at Grow 19 have a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under the Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance, in the same way that school staff do. College’s also have a duty to protect vulnerable adults who may study at their premises and who have similar legislative protection.
The Head of Grow 19 has designated responsibility for safeguarding and promotes an ethos of safety for learners and staff.
All Grow 19 staff have a responsibility to be familiar with college’s safeguarding procedures and to report any disclosures or concerns they have to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). Regular safeguarding training is provided to all staff.
Grow 19 has a safeguarding children and vulnerable adult’s policy and adopts the same protocols as Five Acre Wood School.
Anti-Bullying
Grow 19 and its board of directors seek to ensure that bullying in any form does not happen. We are committed to providing a caring, safe and friendly environment for everyone. Bullying incidents are very rare, due to a very positive ethos in the college and the high level of care and support. We encourage our learners to be kind, to develop respect for each other with a great emphasis on encouraging learners to work and learn together cooperatively. Parents and families have an important part to play in helping to deal with bullying. If you are worried that a learner is bullying or being bullied in college, please contact us immediately, so that any incident can be dealt with swiftly. All incidents of bullying are investigated, followed through and reported to the board of directors.
Supporting Learners with Medical Needs
The provision has a comprehensive policy on administration of medicines in college that is available upon request. Learners may bring medicines into college; however, we do require learners / parents / carers to provide written instructions from the G.P. or pharmacist which should be in the original container which includes the name of the learner, name of the medicine, dose and timing of the medicine and an emergency contact number of the parent / carer. Medicines will be stored safely. The member of staff also needs to be given written permission before they can administer any medication.
Learners who require inhalers may keep these inhalers within the Grow 19 centre however these should be used under the direction of a member of staff. Learners with sickness and diarrhoea should not attend college until the illness has passed, and they have been free of symptoms for 24 hours.
Other key policies available for download
GDPR and Data Protection Policy
Application for Provider Access
Safeguarding
Grow 19 is an SPI college and all those directly connected (staff, directors, parents, families and learners) have an essential role to play in making it safe and secure.
Grow 19 recognises our moral and statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all learners.
Grow 19 recognises the importance of providing an ethos and environment within college that will help learners to feel safe, secure and respected; encourage them to talk openly; and enable them to feel confident that they will be listened to. We are alert to the signs of abuse and neglect and follow our procedures to ensure that learners receive effective support, protection and justice.
In order to have an overview of all the young people the college conducts regular information sharing meetings with colleagues from other agencies such as the NHS and Social Services.
Our college core safeguarding principles are:
- It is a whole college responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of learners as its paramount concern
- All learners regardless of age, gender, ability, culture, race, language, religion or sexual identity, have equal rights to protection
- All learners have a right to be heard and to have their wishes and feelings taken into account
- All staff understand safe professional practice and adhere to our code of conduct and other associated policies
- All staff have a responsibility to recognise vulnerability and act on any concern in accordance with this guidance
If you are worried about something or someone REPORT IT:
- Scan the QR code to report it to a DSL
- If a learner is in immediate danger call 999
- You can also contact your local authority
Kent County Council
- Call 03000 41 61 61 (Mon-Fri 9-5)
- Text relay 18001 03000 41 61 61
- Email social.services@kent.gov.uk
- Out of hours emergency contact: 03000 41 91 91
Medway County Council
- Call 01634 33 44 66 (Mon-Fri 9-5)
- Out of hours emergency contact: 03000 41 91 91
Equality & Diversity
Grow 19 is based in a thriving community centre and our learners undertake community based projects which involve mixing with a diverse range of people and groups. One of the reasons Grow 19 is such a happy, friendly place is because of the way the learners and local community work together and accept each other.
Over the course of the academic year, Grow 19 gets involved in a number of initiatives that include:
- Social inclusion activities
- Fundraising activities
- Community learning workshops
- Volunteering at local fair share schemes /community food projects
- Supporting the maintenance and improvement of the environment for centre users
2024-2025 Term Dates
| Term | Dates |
|---|---|
Term 1 & 2 |
Thursday 5th September 2024 - Friday 20th December 2024 *
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Christmas break: Monday 23rd December 2024 - Friday 3rd January 2025 |
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Term 3 & 4 |
Monday 6th January 2025 - Friday 4th April 2025 *
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Easter break: Monday 7th April 2025 - Monday 21st April 2025 |
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Term 5 & 6 |
Tuesday 22nd April 2025 - Tuesday 15th July 2025 *
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* College Days
Pathway 1 & 2 Learners attend Monday - Friday - East Malling Centre
Pathway 3 Learners attend Tuesday - Friday - Maidstone Community Centre
Routes 19 attend Monday - Friday - Maidstone Community Centre
College Times
9:30am - 4pm each day
2024-2025 INSET Days
2nd, 3rd, 4th September 2024
10th, 11th March 2025
2nd June 2025
The Grow 19 Board
The Grow 19 Board supports the college through it’s governance. Its members together have specific knowledge and experience in safeguarding, education and SEND, community development, business, medicine and health, social care and employment.
We are grateful for their time, interest, support and challenge and their commitment to continuing to develop Grow 19.
SEND Strategy
The aim of the SEND strategy is to improve the educational, health and emotional wellbeing outcomes for all of Kent's children and young people with special educational needs and those who are disabled.
